To ensure that the new labs would meet the many varied needs of the scientists and their work, extensive time was put into planning. Each pair of floors – the main floor and associated mezzanine – was painstakingly considered by laboratory management and personnel.
A full-size replica of a main floor and its mezzanine was erected in the parking lot outside the Administration Building, to facilitate in-person walk-throughs and discussions. Each floor was mocked up, one at a time, with laboratory equipment and materials. These mock ups were then studied, debated, rearranged and altered until a final layout could be confidently submitted to the equipment supplier for development and detailing.
The result was a state-of-the-art facility that would enable innovation and discovery for years to come. As one scientist recalled, “Sinks and water taps and power sources seemed to be everywhere. The availability of bench space, shelves, and bench storage space was unending, and there was empty contingency storage space for years.”